DFAT is on track to cull 500 staff from its ranks following the merger with AusAID. Secretary Peter Varghese discussed job cuts, economic diplomacy and the UN Security Council in Senate Estimates.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is on track to reach its target of cutting 500 jobs by the end of the financial year following the merger with AusAID.

Secretary Peter Varghese told Senate Estimates on Thursday that 374 staff had ceased employment through voluntary redundancy. Others had already agreed to redundancies but had not yet left.

Peter Varghese

Varghese said there would be no more offers of redundancies; the remainder of the 500 will be reached through natural attrition. Former AusAID employees comprised 221 of the 374 who have left, while pre-merger DFAT staff made up the other 153.

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